Paul Gascoigne has admitted that his return to drinking has been prompted by
an urge to kill himself.

Speaking on an ITV film called Being Paul Gascoigne which is screened on Tuesday night, the former Newcastle, Tottenham and England players, says: "At least if I die I wouldn't be in this pain all the time."

Produced and directed by Jane Preston, the film provides a grim picture of a much-loved public figure struggling to control an addictive personality.

Recorded over a period of three months, it notes his obsessional urges for sweets, tattoos and house cleaning. Plus cosmetic surgery: Gascoigne's oddly featureless face these days is not the result of alcohol, it turns out, but a fondness for Botox. It is, however, his failure to control his urge for booze that makes for the most challenging viewing.

Gascoigne has been a conspicuous drinker since he first burned himself on to the wider public consciousness as a brilliant midfielder in the 1990 World Cup.

That apparently carefree character we saw on the football field was clearly an illusion. It turned out he was subject to the most debilitating anxieties. Initially characterised by the euphemism "refuelling problems" his drinking compromised much of his career. But its full life-threatening dimension only became evident when he was admitted to hospital in late 2012.

Granted unprecedented access into his private life, ITV's film was initially intended to show his rehabilitation since that dramatic health scare.

His faltering steps towards recovery and reconciliation with his immediate family are recorded through the early days of the summer, when the sun gifts the pictures a sheen of optimism.

But the film was subject to a sudden change of direction when Gascoigne fell conspicuously off the wagon in August. After a heavy drinking session on a train from his native Newcastle to London, he was arrested at Stevenage station after assaulting a security guard.

He was then recorded on CCTV drinking an entire bottle of gin in an off licence near his home in Bournemouth.

Five days after that relapse in August, the cameras caught up with him again. Which is when he made his gloomy admission about why he still seeks out the bottle. Asked if he is drinking himself to death on purpose, the players admits: "Yeah. But then we're all dying aren't we?"